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Cases in police services
Cases in police services
1.
Linares.
Police services.
Indirect discrimination.
A Roma woman who worked in a market selling clothing
told us of a situation where she felt vulnerable and discriminated against by two police officers. The woman
called the police to report the disappearance of four boxes of underwear from her car, clothing that she was
intending to sell at the market that day. The local police arrived and before doing any form of investigation told
the woman that the boxes had most likely been stolen by a Gypsy nearby.
The women felt offended by that and said “they could have also been stolen by a non-Roma person”. The boxes
of clothing were never found and she was unable to work that day. With a resigned tone in her voice the woman
told us that she didn’t think that the prejudiced ideas police have of Roma were going to change.
2.
Almeria.
Police services.
Direct discrimination.
An evangelical pastor from a town in Almeria contacted the
local FSG office to report on police actions in relation to several Roma families which he believed to be dispro-
portionate and violent and therefore discriminatory and out of place, especially considering that young children
were present. The Department tried to contact the local police station where the incident took place to inform
the person in charge of what had happened to those families. The pastor informed the families of possible re-
course but told us that the families did not want him to take any action for fear of reprisals.
The pastor told us that the families considered this to be a misunderstanding on the part of the police and hoped
that it wouldn’t happen again.
3.
Zaragoza.
Police services.
Direct discrimination.
An education specialist who was with a classroom of Roma
children in the FSG’s Promociona Programme reported that a police officer approached the classroom. The
teacher who was present at the time opened the door.
The police officer asked if a student named Juan or Yasmina was in the class. When the teacher asked why, the
officer explained that they were looking for these children for having painted graffiti on a wall near the police
station. The teacher responded that the two students in question were not there.
The police (apparently not believing the teacher) pointed to some students and asked: “How about those kids
sitting over there?” (referring to the Roma children in the Promociona programme). The children gasped in fear.
The police then turned and left without another word.
This is another case of stereotypes towards the Roma community.
4.
Zaragoza.
Police services.
Direct discrimination.
Several parents came to the FSG office in Zaragoza to re-
port a situation they considered discriminatory against Roma. They told us that two plain-clothes police officers
asked them to identify their children. The officers told them that two bicycles had been stolen and the bicycles
that their children were riding were identical to the ones reported stolen and they therefore had to take the
bicycles to the station in the police van.
The father was indignant and told the officers that this was an outrage and that he had bought these bicycles
for his children.
The police said that they were just following orders and that they would have to take the bicycles to the police
station. He also said that if no one claimed them, they could go by the police station to collect them.
After several weeks the parents did retrieve their bicycles. They told the Department that this only happened
because they are Roma and that they felt certain that this would not have happened to a non-Roma family.